The Cartoon History of the United States By Larry Gonick

Looking for history with comic relief? The Cartoon History of the United States is one of the most entertaining history books I’ve ever read.  The book delivers hundreds of years of history about the United States while keeping it all light with witty humor.  The drawings are simple, entertaining and accompanied by large quantities of text, allowing the book to deliver an ample amount of information disguised as a graphic novel. The caricatures are often entertaining and provide the much needed breaks between all the chunks of text.  It feels as if the book is flying through the years, providing just enough information about events to whet students’ appetites.

The Cartoon History of the United States would make an excellent place to start an inquiry project. This text could be used to introduce students to U.S History or as a companion to the course textbook.  Students who enjoy comedy, history and other non-fiction graphic novels might enjoy this selection. --Claudio Leon


Gonick, Larry. The Cartoon History of the United States. HarperCollins, 1991. Print.